The Roman Conquests (History Essay Sample)

Many countries have had an encounter either in terms of war or in terms of trade, but the few countries that have interacted with Rome will say interaction is war. Romans after overthrowing kings, they came up with a senate that was the central ruling agent. Thereafter, Rome decided to expand by conquering other countries and occupying their land. My discussion explains the various encounters in terms of conquest as well as war. But before that, we have to clearly look at the various aspects that are associated with Rome.

1.1 Brief Background History of Rome

Early Rome can be said to have a history going back to the very early days of civilization. It is indeed very old city and that is why it is today referred to as the eternal city. Romans themselves believe that their city was founded in the years of 753 BC, but modern historian say Rome was founded in 625 BC.

Early Rome was governed by Kings but Romans themselves took over power over their own city and ruled themselves. This means there was an existent monarchy which they threw by themselves and decided to rule them. This was after seven kings had ruled Rome. They came up with a council they called the senate which basically ruled. From this point, everyone spoke of the 'Roman Republic.'

The word republic, according to Latin means public matters or matters of the state. The senate under the kings had only been there to advise the king. This time the same senate appointed a council that ruled Rome like the king. This happened only for only year.

During the time of the Greeks and the Persians, Rome was significantly very weak in terms of military strength as well as the rule of law. The French ransacked them and this exposed their weakness. In the third century, the Romans invaded most of south and north Italy. After this, the Romans got powerful enough to invade the Greek. The reverse happened, the Romans were invaded by the Greek but they still managed to control Greece afterwards.

In ancient Rome, there was a right for people to vote for or against an idea. This then made them worship a lot of foreign gods.

1.2 The expansion of Roman Empire

The invasion of the city of Rome was a significant contribution to their strength because they copied so many things that made them strong later on. These skills included pottery and metal works. Romans though attacked little areas and tried to overcome them as much as they could. These battles included losing and winning.

Good road networks in Rome made them successful. They gained power and were favored by conditions that made them conquer so many troops. Their military were also trained and had exceptional skills which were superior to their enemies. These battles were not just one, but a series of battles that included victory and loss.

The Romans were said to have exploded because they managed to gain land very fast. This involved several losses. The Romans had already conquered the Italian Peninsula in the 265 BC. At this time, the Gauls were trying to get into the Roman Empire but they did not succeed at all. The Romans were defeated by Pyrrhus who was then the king of Epyrus. The secret behind the victory was that the king used an elephant corpse to attack the Romans.

In Rome's early years, the state lived in fear because of its more powerful neighbor, Carthage. The Carthaginians were very great traders in the Mediterranean Sea and because of the approach by the Romans in pursuit of expansion, there was a clash. Each of these groups wanted the trading zone that was in question at that time. The Romans clearly noticed that they needed a very strong team to beat their opponents and take over the trading zones in the Mediterranean. The Carthaginians definitely did not want to lose these precious places and therefore remained strong and decided to find a way forward.

In 264 BC the Romans and the Carthaginians had their first war. This happened in a series of six wars, popularly known as the Punic wars. The Romans emerged the victors. However, the war took over one hundred years for the Romans to emerge top. The war ended in 146 BC. In the second Punic war, the Romans lost in very important battles. It is said that by 146 BC, the Romans were strong enough to capture Carthage in North Africa. Carthage was later burnt to the ground and all signs of the city were later destroyed by the same Romans as a sign that the power of the Carthaginians had been burnt and buried fro ever.

2.0 The Conquest

The Romans had the best technology at that time. Other than technology, they also occupied a very big area as well as having very educated people. There were also many things that were associated with the roman civilization. As mentioned earlier, they had very good road networks all around the world. They had a language which everyone spoke. Many states have tried to be like the Romans but to no avail. America has tried by having a language everyone speaks; Europe too has tried to come up with a single currency. The truth is that these countries are not as great as Rome.

With Carthage defeated, the Romans had become the most powerful Mediterranean state. The victory gave Romans all the opportunity they required to broaden their power in the Mediterranean. The wealthier the Romans became, the more able they were to further expand their empire. This is because they would be able to train their army well and also have enough equipment to protect them.

The Romans were not comfortable with conquering the land near them. They realized that land away from home had a lot of riches that were enough to keep them moving for a good number of days. By so doing this, they would make Rome very rich. This then drove them to attempt conquering Western Europe. At the peak of its power in AD 150, Rome controlled the greatest empire ever seen in Europe during that time. Many of the conquered nations actually benefitted from the roman rule. Roman public paths , roads, water supplies, housing and many more ball appeared in western Europe which later were disused after the Romans returned home.

The roman army was extremely important in defining their success and the expansion of their empire. At the peak of its power, this army conquered what we now call England, France, Germany Middle East and Greece. The army is recognized by historians and is seen as a very effective fighting machine. Ironically, the success of this army led to its downfall. The lowest rank in the roman army was a legionnaire. The legionnaires were trained to fight in a very organized manner and well co-ordinate. A whole legion would be punished if they failed to fight well in the battle, even if the Romans did win the battle. Training was very thorough but paid very important and huge dividends to the Romans.

The conquest of Italy began immediately the Romans expelled the Targuins in 509 BC. Allying themselves with other Latin and Greeks, the Romans quickly drove the Etruscans themselves from the Italian Peninsula. The Romans were however dramatically checked in their conquest of Italy by invasion of another indo-European people; the Gauls. These were a Celtic people who nomadic and war-like. In 387 BC, the roman army was defeated and Rome was captured and burnt to the ground. The Gauls however did not wish to settle in Italy, they were only interested in the wealth. By 350 BC, Rome was sufficiently powerful enough to begin bringing back what they had lost in the war.

2.1 Justifications

Many say that it was not necessary for the Romans to justify anything. Conquest at that time was the best thing to do. Rome existed because of the slaves it brought from conquered lands. Many thinkers refer to them as 'thinking tools.' Though some thinkers may have thought that the Romans were civilizing barbarians and many wars were started with cover motives. Their justification was just victory. Other thinkers would say that it was much the same as America's colonization throughout the world. The Romans were introducing civilization to the rest of the world. This civilization was at times referred top as the light of Rome.

It is true that Rome conquered people who were no threat to them at times. Rome lived in the era of conquer or die. Many of these slaves could not harm Rome in any way. When we compare Romans and the Hellenistic dynasts, Romans are far much better. It is agreed that war is not morally justified, but if it is the only reachable and remaining tools that could save a life, then it probably could be the answer. In case of an immediate threat of violence, then chances of success lie in war.

2.2 Strategies

First, they developed a fighting strategy they called the legion. It was a dense formation of soldiers in lines. Second they trained soldiers in such a way that the soldiers were more afraid of their officers than the enemy. Finally, they trained their soldiers to believe that they were the greatest team in the world.

They later developed a code of laws that other areas wanted to share. Surprisingly, there were social wars that involved Rome fighting with allied cities in Italy. It said that Rome first conquered allied cities and gave them the Latin rights. This therefore meant that the cities were to be ruled by Roman law. It seemed to me that the Roman law was so articulate and therefore was appropriate in bringing down the disorganized nature of the rest of the designed laws.

Romans collected many things from the cities she conquered. These products are said to have shown enough productivity wherever they landed. This is a very positive point concerning their justification. Therefore Romans did a very significant thing I carrying out all these conquests. There were very productive individuals that were taken as slaves and thereby increasing the output of work.

The Romans were said to have exploded because they managed to gain land very fast. This involved several losses. The Romans had already conquered the Italian Peninsula in the 265 BC. At this time, the Gauls were trying to get into the Roman Empire but they did not succeed at all. The Romans were defeated by Pyrrhus who was then the king of Epyrus. The secret behind the victory was that the king used an elephant corpse to attack the Romans. Romans had a dream of where they were going and were working toward getting to the actualization they wanted. Loses were encountered. But none of the Romans complained and yet property was destroyed. Does this tell us that the Romans were justified to proceed with the conquests?

During these conquests, Romans were able to build their own army which not only operated during the conquests but also after all the conquests. During the time of the Greeks and the Persians, Rome was significantly very weak in terms of military strength as well as the rule of law. Rome was at some point earlier protecting itself from harm by the Carthaginians. Defense at times can turn and become the greatest offence.

The French ransacked them and this exposed their weakness. In the third century, the Romans invaded most of south and north Italy. After this, the Romans got powerful enough to invade the Greek. The reverse happened, the Romans were invaded by the Greek but they still managed to control Greece afterwards.

In the course of all these conquests, the Romans knew what they wanted to achieve by the end of it all. The end result must have been a good one because they really worked for it. The end result always matters. The Romans wanted to expand their empire, which they did. According to me, the Romans are justified to conquer all the countries it intended to. Romans protected the property of their subjects at all times.

Roman's war against antigenic was triggered by two main factors. Macedon was suspicious of Rome since it had crushed the Illyrian pirates. He declared war on Rome during its darkest days. The Romans are justified here because they wouldn't let their enemies harm therm. Therefore the best way they would have fought back was to oppose the war.

3.0 Conclusion

History has declared to us that the Romans fought a very fruitful war that was intended to awaken many cities as well as countries. The conquests were to act as lessons and interactive results that are to be used as the primary basis of judgment in many situations. The Romans might have been towards self defense but the fact at hand is that Romans fought many allied groups and ended up conquering them.